Modular Terrain Board Advice

[Furt]

I am embarking on the daunting task of creating some desert/coastal/sea modular terrain boards and have a few questions for those in the know.

I'm considering using 12mm particleboard/chipboard over mdf or marine-ply - does anyone think this is a poor choice?

I can't afford the pink or blue high density insulation and so have opted for 20-30mm polystyrene foam. I have discovered that it comes in a "standard" grade and a "H" grade. Will the standard stuff be durable enough if I coat it with filla and paint?

Lastly do I need to edge my boards with wood to protect the foam or can I get by without it?

Thanks for your time

[Hammers]

Lastly do I need to edge my boards with wood to protect the foam or can I get by without it?

They will deteriorate very quickly if you don't protect the edges.

[Rhoderic]

How do you protect all the edges on a modular board? Just wondering. You obviously can't use anything with thickness, lest there'll be gaps between the pieces when you put them together.

[Citizen Sade]

Duct tape, I believe, is traditional.

[Captain Blood]

Must confess I've always used the pink/blue foam which is higher density and has much more integrity than the old style white polystyrene. But yes it is a lot more expensive. Then again, it's much better stuff, so... 

If I were going to protect the edges (and I haven't really needed to on my small terrain pieces so far) I think I might look at the rolls of strip laminate edging they sell in big DIY stores to dress the edges of kitchen worktops... But that's just a thought on my part. Don't know how practical it would be. But I think you could choose some very nice edging effects that way, and it would be pretty robust. Guess the question is whether it would stick to polystyrene (hot glue or pink stuff?) and whether you can get it in depth adequate for the depth of your terrain boards.

I use 5mm MDF. It's thin, it's rigid and warp resistant, it's clean, smooth, and easily worked and (compared to chipboard) it's lightweight. And I think it's not much different in price. I'd recommend it unhesitatingly.

[Hammers]

I'm going for Blue Foam. There is nothing agreeable with non-extruded styrofoam.

[Emir of Askaristan]

Hi,
I recently purchased some Orange (mid density) extruded  foam from B&Q here in the UK for a demo game my club has planned soon. 4 x1500mm x 500mmx 50mm boards were £20. Although this is a slightly smaller than the "traditional" 6ft x 4ft table size, they will fit easily in the boot of my car and are light enough for me to carry.

I had intended using MDF, but precut board worked more expensive (about £25) and needed to be fixed somehow together for our demo game (more money wich should be spent on figs and scenery!). The Orange foam will be secured with masking tape on the day to stop them "drifting" apart.

I plan to texture the foam with filler then paint, although I am toying with the idea of simply covering with a light textured wallpaper and painting and drybrushing the colour on so it matches my buildings.

I'll keep you posted as to how I get on, maybe some pix too.

[Drunkendwarf]

Here's a link to a site I like to visit for inspiration. I haven't started yet....

http://www.quindia.com/studioarticles.htm

DJ

[Furt]

Here's a link to a site I like to visit for inspiration. I haven't started yet....

http://www.quindia.com/studioarticles.htm

DJ

Thanks - I have seen this site and studied it closely - it is a great tutorial. It is a similar technique to Gary Chalk's plans. I am interested in peoples thoughts on whether they think it necessary to edge or not?

Does anyone know about the "H" grade white polystyrene I mentioned?

[Malamute]

At the very least I would use some masking tape around the edges. However careful you are these things still get knocked and chipped.

[Hammers]

That tutorial is not bad at all! I will probably spend just a little bit more time on the detailing on my board.

[stormbird]

Hi there

Not built mine yet , but I would line the edges with thin card board about same thickness as a A4 folder divider.

Cut it into strips slightly longer than the edge it will be fastened to and line up one corner glue it on with PVA [ this will harden it a little as well ] then butt the next strip up to the overlap at the next corner and work your way around the board then trim when dry.

Once it had stuck it can be painted with dilute PVA and will be quite strong.

regards Paul

[Monty]

Hi there,

momentarily I'm building a new gaming board myself. I'm using pink styrofoam, an 10mm MDF board as base and wood strips to protect the edges.

Have a look here:
Link to the post

The result seems to be very durable but a bit heavy. With the further pieces I'll try thinner wood for the edges and maybe thinner MDF as baseplate. But unfoprtunately I haven't found 15mm pink styrofoam yet...
Perhaps I'll try kind of sandwich architecture with cheap and light white styrofoam in addition to the good pink stuff...

Cheers
Monty

[Dewbakuk]

Never come accross H grade as a classifictaion, sorry.

A friend of mine has a board made purely from the white polystyrene, it's probably around 3-4" thick but isn't mounted on any wood at all. It's just cut into 2' squares and wrapped in duct tape. I have been amazed at how well it's stood up to gaming. The top is covered in filler and foliage and has integral hills on some of the pieces. It's been used fairly regularly for a couple of years and has suffered less damage than some of the more complex boards I've worked on. As long as you aren't intending to travel with it much it can be fine.

I wouldn't recommend chipboard though, the edges of it chip easily and it's rather thick and heavy for it's depth.

[fastolfrus]

Why not edge your white foam with the high density blue foam?
If you did a border 3 or 4 inches all around your white board it would protect the edge without adding weight and not cost you as much as a full blue foam board.